For example, Titchener identified four elements in the sensation of taste: sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. The main method of investigation in structuralism was introspection. Structuralism was the first school of psychology and focused on breaking down mental processes into the most basic components. Researchers tried to understand the basic elements of consciousness using a method known as introspection. Wilhelm Wundt, founder of the first psychology lab, was an advocate of this position and is often considered the founder of structuralism, despite the fact that it was his student, Edward B. Titchener who first coined the term to describe this school of thought.
In relation to that, nurture means the effect the environment has on that individual, for example influence of parents or friends. The purpose of the nature-nurture debate is to explain the effect of genetic influence and the environment on the development of human trait and behavior (Crooks & Stein, 1991). The history of nature-nurture debate started off with famous philosophers like John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau (Feldman, 1997). John Locke believed that human behavior is solely influenced by nurture. By this is meant that human were born with an empty brain and we learnt and developed through the experiences in life (Myers, 2000).
He based his belief on the results of trials with hypnosis. When he was able to produce and remove symptoms of hysteria in his entranced patients. Continuing this theory has an underlying belief that individual’s behaviour is the direct result of the influences of all past experience. These influences would have an even greater effect if they were from childhood. Freud believed that these first experiences formed solid foundations on which the developing client would structure the rest of their life.
Charles Spearman (1863-1945), a pioneer of mental testing, proposed that an individual’s performance of intelligence tests was determined by a common factor that he termed “g” (general intelligence) and factors that were specific to the different kinds of tests, which he labelled “s” (specific factor). Later, in the mid 20th century, his ideas were further developed with the aid of Cyril Burt and Phillip Vernon, coming to the conclusion that “g” was innate and could not be changed whilst “s” was
Piaget and Vygotsky were both influential in forming a more scientific approach to analysing the cognitive development process of the child active construction of knowledge. Both Piaget and Vygotsky agreed that children's cognitive development took place in stages. However they were distinguished by different styles of thinking. Piaget was the first to reveal that children reason and think differently at different periods in their lives. Vygotsky believed that the history of the child and the history of the child’s culture needed to be understood because it overrides the cognitive schema process that Piaget described.
A Comparison of Behaviorism PSY/310 January 5, 2012 A Comparison of Behaviorism Described as a developmental theory, behaviorism observes and measures behaviors which are produced by a response to a learner’s stimuli. These responses to stimuli are often reinforced using positive and negative feedback to condition and achieve desired behaviors. The educational effects produced while using behaviorism are the key elements in developing the basic skills and foundations to understanding the subject area. The theory of behaviorism states that “knowing is giving the correct response when exposed to a particular stimulus”. (Skinner, 1990).
Cherry (2009), “Behaviorism is a school of thought in psychology based on the assumption that learning occurs through interactions with the environment” (para 1). B.F. Skinner and Operant Conditioning Burrhus Frederic Skinner, also known as, B.F. Skinner, was a behaviorist and studied operant conditioning. According to Cherry (2009), “Operant conditioning (sometimes referred to as instrumental conditioning) is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an association is made between a behavior and a consequence for that behavior” (para 1). Skinner elaborated on Edward Thorndike’s observations that behavior was controlled by consequences of the actions.
Explain and evaluate the methodology used by the behaviourist approach (12 marks) Behaviourists believe that we are all born a blank slate “tabula rasa”. Their theory is that all behaviour is learned and determined by the environment we live in as we have learned to respond to stimuli in particular ways through conditioning. Behaviourists also assume that the process of learning is similar amongst all species; therefore humans learn the same way as animals do. One of the methods that behaviourists use to do research is lab experiments. The approach is regarded by scientists and a good and solid approach to studying behaviour because extraneous variables can be carefully controlled.
The Behaviorist approach. The behaviorist approach is based on the assumption that we are born as a ‘blank slate’. A second key assumption is that all behavior is a learnt response to stimulus in the environment. We are born with a few basic reflexes but everything else is learnt. The behaviourist approach puts forward two explanations of how we learn.
Running Head: CLASSICAL CONDITIONING Generalisation & Discrimination Are Characteristics of Classical Conditioning- An Evolutionary Perspective [Name of the Student] [Name of the Institution] Generalisation & Discrimination Are Characteristics of Classical Conditioning- An Evolutionary Perspective Classical Conditioning Classical conditioning also called respondent conditioning; packaging type I or Pavlovian conditioning is a concept of behaviourism proposed by Ivan Pavlov in the early twentieth century. This theory focuses on the learning achievements due to the association between stimuli of the environment and automatic reactions in the body. This notion of involuntary reaction is the main point that differentiates the operant conditioning. It is a learning theory that states that a natural, mostly innate, unconditioned reflex can be added by learning a new conditioned reflex. The assumptions and techniques of classical conditioning can also be used to treat anxiety, compulsive behaviours or anxiety-like symptoms.